Carolina Herrera (born María Carolina Josefina Pacanins y Niño; 8 January 1939) is a Venezuelan-American fashion designer known for her personal style, and for dressing various First Ladies, including Jacqueline Onassis,

Laura Bush Laura Lane Welch Bush (''née'' Welch; born November 4, 1946) is an American teacher, librarian, memoirist and author who was First Lady of the United States from 2001 to 2009. Bush previously served as First Lady of Texas from 1995 to 2000. ...

Michelle Obama Michelle LaVaughn Robinson Obama (born January 17, 1964) is an American attorney and author who served as first lady of the United States from 2009 to 2017. She was the first African-American woman to serve in this position. She is married t ...

, and Melania Trump.

Early life

María Carolina Josefina Pacanins y Niño was born on 8 January 1939, in

Caracas Caracas (, ), officially Santiago de León de Caracas, abbreviated as CCS, is the capital and largest city of Venezuela, and the center of the Metropolitan Region of Caracas (or Greater Caracas). Caracas is located along the Guaire River in the ...

, Venezuela, to Guillermo Pacanins Acevedo, an air force officer and former governor of Caracas, and María Cristina Niño Passios. Her socialite grandmother introduced her to the world of fashion, taking young Carolina to shows by

Balenciaga Balenciaga SA ( ) is a luxury fashion house founded in 1919 by the Spanish designer Cristóbal Balenciaga in San Sebastian, Spain. Balenciaga produces ready-to-wear, footwear, handbags, and accessories and licenses its name and branding to C ...

and buying her outfits at

Lanvin Lanvin () is a French Luxury goods, luxury fashion house based in Paris. Founded in 1889 by Jeanne Lanvin, it is the oldest French fashion house still in operation. Since 2018, it has been a subsidiary of Shanghai-based Lanvin Group. Bruno Sialel ...

and

Dior Christian Dior SE (), commonly known as Dior (stylized DIOR), is a French Luxury goods, luxury fashion house controlled and chaired by French businessman Bernard Arnault, who also heads LVMH, the world's largest luxury group. Dior itself holds ...

. She has said, "My eye was accustomed to seeing pretty things."

Career and brand

In 1965, Herrera began her career working as a publicist for Emilio Pucci, a Florentine

Marquis A marquess (; french: marquis ), es, marqués, pt, marquês. is a nobleman of high hereditary rank in various European peerages and in those of some of their former colonies. The German language equivalent is Markgraf (margrave). A woman wi ...

himself and a close family friend. She began working at Pucci's

boutique, and moved to New York in 1980. Frequently associating with Mick and Bianca Jagger and Andy Warhol, at

Studio 54 Studio 54 is a Broadway theater and a former disco nightclub at 254 West 54th Street in the Midtown Manhattan neighborhood of New York City. Operated by the Roundabout Theatre Company, Studio 54 has 1,006 seats on two levels. The theater was ...

, she became well known for her dramatic style. She first appeared on the International Best Dressed List in 1972, then was elected to its Hall of Fame in 1980. In 1981, her friend Diana Vreeland, then Editor-in-Chief of '' Vogue'' suggested that Carolina design a clothing line. She did so, having samples made in Caracas, and debuted her collection at Manhattan's Metropolitan Club to critical acclaim. A well known Park Avenue boutique, Martha's, agreed to showcase her clothing in their prominent windows. Upon this initial success, she returned to Caracas and raised capital to fund a more formal launch. Her first runway show in 1980 included future supermodel

Iman Iman, Imann, Imaan, Eman, Emaan, or Imman may refer to: Places * Iman, Iran, a village in Kalashi District, Kermanshah Province * The Iman River, the former name of the Bolshaya Ussurka River, a tributary of the Ussuri River in Russia's Primors ...

. Carolina Herrera presents her Ready-to-Wear Collection semiannually at Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week in New York. The company has been based in New York City since 1980, and in 1981 the brand received recognition from several key publications, including '' Women's Wear Daily'' and '' Tatler'', with particular early attention to her well designed sleeves. A few of her most notable clients have included

Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis Jacqueline Lee Kennedy Onassis ( ; July 28, 1929 – May 19, 1994) was an American socialite, writer, photographer, and book editor who served as first lady of the United States from 1961 to 1963, as the wife of President John F. Kennedy. A pop ...

, who asked her to design the dress for her daughter Caroline's wedding, Diana, Duchess of Cadaval, who asked her to design the dress for her marriage with Prince Charles-Philippe of Orléans, Duke of Anjou, and actress Renée Zellweger. In the late 1980s, Spanish fragrance company

Puig Puig () is a word of Catalan origin, meaning "hill". Hence, in Catalan-speaking areas, it appears in the names of numerous people and geographical features: Geographical features * Puig-l'agulla, a mountain of Catalonia * Puig de l'Àliga (Sant ...

licensed the Carolina Herrera name to develop and market a line of perfumes. In 1995, the firm acquired the Carolina Herrera fashion business, retaining her as Creative Director. In 2008, they launched a ready-to-wear brand called CH Carolina Herrera; as of 2012, there were 18 Carolina Herrera and CH Carolina Herrera boutiques in the world, and her lines were carried in 280 stores in 104 countries. As of 2011, her daughters Carolina Jr. and Patricia Lansing participated in the creative direction and design. In February 2016, it was reported by '' WWD'' that the fragrance side of the business had more than 25,000 points of sale across the globe while the CH brand included 129 freestanding stores. In 2015, the first advert for the brand was released, featuring models

Elisabeth Erm Elisabeth Erm (Tartu, 1 February 1993) is an Estonian model. Career She was discovered at age 17, when a model agent approached her and she decided to give it a try. She was then sent to Milan one summer and Istanbul another summer. In January 2 ...

and

Joséphine Le Tutour Joséphine Le Tutour (born November 20, 1994) is a French model. Early life Joséphine Le Tutour won the French edition of Elite Model Look and represented her country for the international contest where she placed seventh. She has a baccalaur ...

. In July 2016, Herrera announced the release of her new women's fragrance to be available for purchase in September, her biggest fragrance launch in 14 years. The scent is called 'Good Girl' and Karlie Kloss is the face of the fragrance. In 2018, Herrera showed her last line for her eponymous brand and handed creative directorship of the brand over to

Wes Gordon Wes Gordon (born 1988) is an American fashion designer. Born in Chicago, Illinois, Gordon was raised in Atlanta, Georgia. He attended the Lovett School in Atlanta and graduated in 2005. He interned with Oscar de la Renta and Tom Ford and after g ...

Awards and achievements

In 2008, Herrera was awarded the Geoffrey Beene Lifetime Achievement Award from the Council of Fashion Designers of America, and "Womenswear Designer of the Year" in 2004. Herrera is a recipient of The International Center in New York's Award of Excellence as well as Spain's Gold Medal for Merit in the Fine Arts, which was presented to her in 2002 by King

Juan Carlos I Juan Carlos I (;, * ca, Joan Carles I, * gl, Xoán Carlos I, Juan Carlos Alfonso Víctor María de Borbón y Borbón-Dos Sicilias, born 5 January 1938) is a member of the Spanish royal family who reigned as King of Spain from 22 Novem ...

. She was awarded the Gold Medal of the Queen Sofía Spanish Institute in 1997. She received the Fashion Group International Superstar Award, the Style Awards Designer of the Year in 2012 and the "Mercedes-Benz Presents" title for her 2011 collection. She has been on the cover of ''Vogue'' seven times. Since 2004, she has been a member of the board of directors of jewelry designer

Mimi So Mimi So is a New York City-based American jewelry designer, known for a "distinctive and definitive fashion vibe" and a large celebrity clientele. Her company was founded as a partnership with luxury conglomerate Richemont, which subsequently so ...

, and since 1999 on the board of the CFDA. In 2005, she received the Golden Plate Award of the American Academy of Achievement during the International Achievement Summit in New York City. In 2014, she earned the 2014 Couture Council Award for Artistry of Fashion. File:Carolina Herrera AW14 12.jpg File:Carolina Herrera AW14 07.jpg File:Carolina Herrera AW14 02.jpg File:Carolina Herrera AW14 13.jpg File:Carolina Herrera Spring 2010 - Abstract.jpg File:Carolina Herrera AW14 08.jpg File:Carolina Herrera AW14 15.jpg File:Carolina Herrera AW14 09.jpg

Personal life

In 1957, at the age of 18, Herrera married Guillermo Behrens Tello, a Venezuelan landowner. Before their eventual divorce in 1964, they became the parents of two daughters: * Mercedes Behrens-Pacanins * Ana Luisa Behrens-Pacanins, who married developer Luis Paraud-Carpena, the son of Maj. Gen. Fernando Paraud of Madrid, in 1989. In 1968, in Caracas, she married Reinaldo Herrera Guevara, who had inherited the Spanish title The 5th Marquis of Torre Casa in 1962 upon his father's death. Reinaldo was the host of ''Buenos Días'', a Venezuelan morning-television news program and the elder son of Don Reinaldo Herrera Uslar, 4th Marquis of Torre Casa, a prominent Venezuelan sugarcane plantation owner, aristocrat and art collector. Therefore, by marriage, Carolina held the title The Marquise consort of Torre Casa, until it was retracted in 1992, as Reinaldo had issued no son. Her husband is a special-projects editor of '' Vanity Fair'' magazine. Together, they have two daughters, and six grandchildren, including: * Carolina Adriana Herrera-Pacanins (b. 1969), who married Miguel Baez. * Patricia Cristina Herrera-Pacanins, who married Gerrit Livingston Lansing Jr., a son of Suydam Rosengarten Lansing and Gerrit Livingston Lansing Sr. (a descendant of Robert Livingston), in 2002. In 2009, Herrera became a naturalized United States citizen.

References

External links

Carolina Herrera
{{DEFAULTSORT:Herrera, Carolina 1939 births Living people People from Caracas High fashion brands American fashion designers American women fashion designers American fashion businesspeople Venezuelan women in business Venezuelan emigrants to the United States Venezuelan fashion designers Venezuelan women fashion designers Wedding dress designers American women company founders American company founders Venezuelan company founders People with acquired American citizenship 21st-century American women Puig